The week before the first Saturday in December, Medfield Garden Club members gather greens. They spend that week building tabletop displays, porch and doorway decorations, specialty wreaths and swags for their annual sale. In the same week the club makes three large wreaths for the Medfield Town House and smaller wreaths for every door of the library. It also hangs swags and red ribbons on the Town Gazebo.
That work is up before Friday night, when Bellforge Arts Center's Holiday Stroll fills downtown. The Garden Club's own sale is Saturday morning. On Sunday the Medfield Foundation's Angel Run starts at the high school. Three organizations run these events. The Friday and Saturday events use the same downtown buildings along Main Street and North Street, and last year the Stroll was where Angel Run runners picked up their bibs. They work best planned as one weekend.
Three Days, Three Organizations
The 2026 dates fall like this:
- Friday, Dec. 4, starting at 4 p.m.: Holiday Stroll 2026, Bellforge's 12th annual event. It brings more than 40 artists to four indoor locations, plus food trucks and an outdoor tree lighting. Admission and parking are free, and Bellforge asks people to register so it can prepare the space.
- Saturday, Dec. 5, doors at 10 a.m.: the Medfield Garden Club's Holiday Home Sale, which the club holds on the first Saturday in December every year. The sale is at the Unitarian church at 26 North Street.
- Sunday, Dec. 6, at 11:30 a.m.: the Medfield Foundation Angel Run, a 5K race, fun run and walk at Medfield High School.
Each event has its own audience. The Stroll draws families after dark. The greens sale draws people decorating a front porch. The Angel Run draws runners, walkers and anyone in a costume. All three take place within about 44 hours. Bellforge says every part of the Stroll is within walking distance.
The Run-Up Starts in November
Several smaller events lead up to the weekend, and two of them are in buildings the Stroll used last year.
- Tuesday, Nov. 10, 7 p.m.: the Medfield Historical Society holds its annual meeting with a presentation about Robert "Bubblegum Bob" Kennefic. It takes place at the Medfield TV studio, 18 North Meadows Road. Details are on the Historical Society's calendar.
- Thursday, Nov. 19, 11 a.m. to noon: "Healthy Holidays with Medfield's Public Health Nurse" is in the library conference room at 468 Main Street.
- Thursday, Nov. 19, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.: the Garden Club's Holiday Centerpiece Workshop and Fundraiser is in Fellowship Hall at the United Church of Christ, 496 Main Street. You bring greens from your yard or a local shop, a leakproof container and clippers. A trained instructor and club members walk you through making an arrangement. The $50 donation supports community beautification and gardening education. To register, email [email protected] with your name and phone number. Medfield02052's blog posted the details on Oct. 30 and noted that space is limited.
The Nov. 19 workshop teaches the same skill the club uses to stock its December sale. It is the one night of the season when you learn the craft instead of buying the finished piece.
The Same Addresses, Different Days
Last December's Stroll map shows the overlap clearly. Bellforge's 2025 event page listed five artist sites, and three of them are also used by other events this season.
| Address | Stroll role in 2025 | Other uses this season |
|---|---|---|
| 26 North Street, First Parish UU | Artist site, added in 2025, with an outdoor movie on the front lawn | Garden Club Holiday Home Sale, Saturday, Dec. 5 |
| 496 Main Street, United Church of Christ | Artist site with Bellforge's Winter Craft Corner in the Great Room | Garden Club centerpiece workshop, Nov. 19 |
| 468 Main Street, Medfield Public Library | Artist site with children's crafts and a scavenger hunt | Kids' Holiday Stroll drop-in, Dec. 4, 4 to 6:30 p.m.; Healthy Holidays, Nov. 19 |
| 495 Main Street, Middlesex Savings Bank | Artist site | |
| 456 Main Street, Zullo Gallery | Artist site |
The Garden Club also sold decorative wreaths and arrangements as a vendor at the UCC during the 2025 Stroll. That puts it downtown Friday night and at 26 North Street on Saturday morning.
This year Bellforge lists four indoor locations instead of five. The library's kids' drop-in from 4 to 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 4 is on the library's December calendar. Free registration is on Bellforge's 2026 event page.
How Last December's Friday Night Ran
The 2025 Stroll ran from 4 to 8:30 p.m. At 4:30 p.m., Bellforge's Lantern & Lights Parade left the Bank of America parking lot and ended at Town Hall. At the same time, Parks and Recreation lit a fire pit and handed out s'mores on the Town Hall front lawn. Santa was at the Dwight-Derby House from 5 to 7:30 p.m. A "Joy To The World" performance played at Baxter Park from 6 to 6:45 p.m., and MEMO's tree lighting followed there at 6:45.
One 2025 item connected Friday to Sunday directly. During the Stroll, Angel Run runners could pick up their race bibs at Needham Bank.
2025 was also the first year the Stroll closed downtown streets. Bellforge said the closures were meant to improve accessibility and make it easier and safer to walk between locations. The closed sections were Main Street from South Street to Route 27 and North Street from Main Street to Frairy Street. Parking was offered at these spots:
- Behind Middlesex Bank
- Along Meetinghouse Pond and at the Post Office lot, after 5 p.m.
- The Medfield Public Library lot
- The Bank of America lot, after 4 p.m.
- The Roberts Mitchell Caruso Funeral Home lot on Miller Street
- Miller Street and Pleasant Street
- North Meadows Road business lots, after 5 p.m.
The North Street closure ran right past 26 North Street. The church that hosted artists and a lawn movie on Friday night opened for the greens sale about 14 hours later.
Saturday Morning at 26 North Street
The Holiday Home Sale is the Garden Club's main fundraiser of the season. Proceeds support the club's work in conservation, community beautification and education. Members spend the whole week before the sale preparing tabletop displays, porch and doorway decorations, gift ideas, specialty wreaths and swags. The club tells shoppers to arrive early for the best selection.
The club's work also shows up on the roads into town. Its planters and containers along local roads are switched from fall flowers and foliage to evergreens and holiday trim. The wreaths on the Town House and library doors and the swags on the gazebo are made by the same club and the same volunteers whose sale you shop on Saturday.
Last year the sale was on Saturday, Dec. 6, at the same North Street church. The club's first-Saturday rule puts this year's sale on Dec. 5.
Sunday at the High School
The weekend ends away from Main Street. The Angel Run is a USATF-certified 5K race, fun run and walk on a holiday- and winter-themed course with musicians along the way. The Medfield Foundation says participants dress in costume and come with friends, family and dogs to run, walk or stroll.
The money stays local. According to the Medfield Foundation, the Angel Run has raised close to $300,000 for its Community Assistance Fund. Medfield Outreach distributes that fund to Medfield residents in need through an application process. The Foundation's page also asks for volunteers and sponsors as well as runners.
The season's last major date is three days later. On Wednesday, Dec. 9, at 5:30 p.m., the Medfield Historical Society presents "Greetings from Breed's Hill: Fact and Folklore for America's 250th." The free public talk is at The Center, One Ice House Road, and is co-sponsored by the Council on Aging and the Medfield Public Library.
If the Garden Club's porch swags have you thinking about how your own front door will look to buyers next spring, Elena Price can show you where your Medfield home stands today. Request your Instant Home Valuation and start the conversation while the wreaths are still up.
